New Airline Routes and Route Changes

South America

Avianca will cancel service between Lima and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as of January 2, 2015. Instead, it will begin flying four weekly routes between Lima and Punta Cana.

 

GOL will add a fourth weekly flight on its São Paulo Guarulhos-Punta Cana (Dominican Republic)-Orlando, Florida route between December 7 and February 22, 2015.

Air Canada

 

Air Canada will launch nonstop thrice-weekly service between Toronto, Canada and Rio de Janeiro's Galeão - Tom Jobim International Airport on December 11.

 

AeroLap-Paraguay Airlines plans to launch operations in December, linking Asuncion, Paraguay and Madrid.

 

Mexico and Central America

In November, British charter airline Thomson Airways will launch direct weekly service between London's Gatwick Airport and Liberia, Costa Rica.

 

Air Canada will begin three weekly flights on December 17 between Toronto, Canada and Panama City, Panama.

 

Aeromexico will launch six weekly flights between Mexico City and Managua, Nicaragua on December 10.

 

Mexico-based Volaris will add a Guadalajara, Mexico - Reno, Nevada route as of December 14. The twice-weekly service will be the only scheduled international air service from Reno-Tahoe International Airport.

 

Delta Air Lines plans to begin daily service between Salt Lake City, Utah and Mexico City on December 20. The airline will also fly three weekly flights between Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (Washington state, U.S.) and Puerto Vallarta, Mexicoand between Seattle and Los Cabos, Mexico during December and January, with a modified schedule continuing after January 10.

 

International Connections

AEROFLOT will increase service between Moscow Sheremetyevo and Miami with a fourth weekly flight for the winter season.

 

Air Europa will up its weekly flights between Madrid and Miami from three to five as of December 20.

 

Delta will resume seasonal Saturday service between Miami and Raleigh, North Carolina on December 20.

 

Virgin America will launch daily nonstop service between New York-JFK and Fort Lauderdale (Florida, Miami area) on December 18.

 

JetBlue will launch its seventh daily "Mint" route on December 23 on its New York-JFK to Los Angeles (California) route, and will add a fourth daily "Mint" service between New York-JFK and San Francisco (California).

 

United Airlines will end service between Washington, D.C.-Dulles International Airport and New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport on October 26.

 

Delta will restore Delta Connection service between its Latin American hub in Atlanta, Georgia and the Canadian capital of Ottawa on December 20. The flights will operate daily during the Christmas and New Years holidays and then drop to three weekly flights.

 

Airline Alliance News

Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) plans to increase its codeshare flights with TAM in order to improve access to and throughout Brazil, adding the ANA code to seven routes operated by TAM.

 

Air France will expand codeshare service with Aeromexico as of October 26, with Air France codes added to 12 routes within Mexico, all of which originate in Mexico City.

 

Etihad Airways has announced Etihad Airways Partners, creating a partnership between Airberlin (Germany), Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Jet Airways (India), Darwin Airline (Etihad Regional) and Eithad Airways.

 

WestJet and China Airlines have entered into a codeshare agreement that will see designations available on select WestJet flights from Vancouver, British Colombia (Canada) and Los Angeles, California (U.S.).

 

QATAR Airways and S7 Airlines (OJSC Siberia Airlines) began codeshare service with QATAR codes on 12 domestic routes out of Moscow Domodedovo and S7 codes on two flights out of Doha, Qatar.

Cadillac

 

JetBlue Airways and Singapore Airlines plan to enter into a codeshare agreement that will give JetBlue passengers access to five new cities in Europe, and Singapore travelers access to 16 U.S. destinations.

 

Other Airline News

Delta Air Lines will be allowed to continue service to Atlanta from Dallas Love Field through the end of this year. The airline was previously notified by the airport that it would have to vacate its gates by October 13.

 

American Airlines partnered with Cadillac to offer luxury car chauffer service between gates for top passengers. ConciergeKey members now have access to the amenity at Los Angeles International and the program will expand to U.S. airports Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK and New York-LaGuardia by the end of the year.

 

Airport News

Mexico's Los Cabos International Airport reopened after repairing damage from Hurricane Odile.

 

Peru is investing in upgrading its airports in hopes of transforming the country into a hub for regional air traffic.

 

Loyalty Program News

Delta Air Lines has upped the spending threshold for SkyMiles members hoping to reach elite "Medallion" status. Under the new rules, SkyMiles members must spend at least $3,000 during 2015 (in addition to flying 25,000 miles) to earn elite status for 2016.

 

Select American Airlines AAdvantage members will soon have the opportunity to earn 7,500 frequent flier miles on American in exchange for test-driving a Cadillac.

 

Hotel News

The 34-room Howard Johnson Yerba Buena opened in San Miguel de Tucumán, capital of Argentina's Tucuman Province. Part of Wyndham Worldwide, the hotel offers an onsite restaurant and bar, gym, spa, complimentary hot breakfast and Wi-Fi and two event rooms, with a maximum capacity of 55 people. It is located 15 minutes from downtown, in the Yerba Buena neighborhood.

 

With 100% of electrical services restored in Mexico's Los Cabos and Baja California Sur after Hurricane Odile, many Los Cabos hotels have confirmed reopening dates. Open now are the Riu Palace Cabo San Lucas, Riu Santa Fe, Grand Solmar Land's End Resort & Spa, The Ridge at Playa Grande Luxury Villas, Playa Grande Resort & Grand Spa, Solmar All-Inclusive Resort & Beach Club and Cabo Surf Hotel & Restaurant. Several other properties have said they will not reopen until January.

 

The 110-room Holiday Inn Express Xalapa opened in Veracruz, Mexico. The hotel is located inside the Plaza Variedades shopping center and offers a multi-purpose hall and event space that can hold up to 400 people, as well as free Wi-Fi, a fitness center and a business center.

HYATT House San Juan

 

Puerto Rico's first extended-stay hotel has opened with the 126-room HYATT House San Juan. The hotel, in the city's Miramar neighborhood, has studio, one- and two-bedroom suites with full kitchens. It offers free hot breakfast, a food market, flexible meeting space and free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel.

 

Ramada opened the 96-room Ramada Santo Domingo Princess Hotel, which includes a business center, the Princess Casino, two banquet halls, meeting/conference rooms and on-site dining. The hotel has free Wi-Fi and free hot breakfast.

 

Midtown Manhattan's Hyatt Herald Square is now open. The 122-room hotel includes an espresso bar, on-site market and lounge, bar and private dining space.

 

Best Western will launch a new urban boutique brand called Vib, with "technology-centric" hotels that offer gaming pods, smart TVs in guest rooms and LED mood lighting. The company will also launch a new hotel collection called BW Premier, with each property (bookable via the Best Western website) required to maintain a TripAdvisor rating of at least four dots and a AAA/CAA rating of at least three diamonds for inclusion.

 

Travel Services

Jet It Up flight diary has launched, importing itineraries from the TripIt app and keeping a record of a traveler's past flights. In addition to allowing travelers to share their flight histories with others, it includes color-blocked infographics of travel histories and future flights as well as flight maps.